Random House
Focus On: Censorship & Banned Books
Billy Collins' "Rain" introduces the Random House 104-page magazine for educators that focuses on censorship and banned books. The resource is packed with teaching guides, articles by noted authors, and links to organizations against...
Earth Day Network
Filtering Water
See the water filtration system up close with a fun science experiment. Young scientists work for several class periods to design a water filter using household objects, and then decide which filter material would be most effective in...
It's About Time
Coal and Your Community
When I was young, I was afraid of the dark. Now I am afraid of getting the electric bill. This fourth lesson in a series of eight focuses on coal mining, conservation, and energy efficiency. Scholars start by taking data from a table and...
It's About Time
Where are the Volcanoes?
Middle school geologists map the volcanoes closest to themselves, learn about map distortion, and infer possible future volcano locations. A focus on latitude, longitude, and volcanoes beneath the ocean helps connect the lesson.
It's About Time
Adaptations
Congratulations! You exist, thanks to the wonders of biology and adaptations. The focus of the lesson explains many adaptations of plants and animals and how the environment has influenced the process. A hands-on activity demonstrates...
It's About Time
Paleoclimates
How do scientists know what the Earth was like in the past? This second installment of a six-part series focuses on paleoclimates and provides an overview of how geologists determine information about past climates using fossil pollen,...
It's About Time
How Do Plate Tectonics and Ocean Currents Affect Global Climate?
What do plate tectonics and ocean currents have to do with global climate? This fourth installment in a six-part series focuses on how plate tectonics and ocean currents affect global climate, both now and in the past, outlines an...
It's About Time
How Might Global Warming Affect Your Community?
What effects will global warming have on your community? This last installment of a six-part series focuses on the effects that global warming may have on a community. Brainstorming and discussion allow groups to independently develop...
It's About Time
Mass Extinction and Fossil Records
The focus of a fossil-based lesson uses graphs and charts that allow young paleontologists to make inferences about events of mass extinction. They must apply their previous knowledge about fossil records in this final lesson of the...
Towson University
Looking Into Lactase: Guided Inquiry
Milk does a body good ... unless, of course, someone is lactose intolerant. Pupils play the role of pharmaceutical scientists in a guided inquiry lab about lactase. Lab groups collaborate to learn more about lactose intolerance, how...
It's About Time
The Rear End Collision
Did you know one in every four car crashes are rear end collisions? The lesson explains what happens to your neck when you are involved in a rear end collision. Scholars experiment and apply Newton's Second Law of Motion.
Center for Learning in Action
Water – Changing States (Part 2)
Here is part two of a two-part lesson in which scholars investigate the changing states of water—liquid, solid, and gas—and how energy from heat changes its molecules. With grand conversation, two demonstrations, and one hands-on...
It's About Time
Curved Mirrors
Discover concave and convex mirrors using a laser light. Scholars experiment with real and virtual images before reading a handout and completing homework questions. Included extensions greatly benefit learners, so take advantage of the...
It's About Time
Effect of Lenses on Light
Optometry jokes just get cornea and cornea. Young scientists use a lens and light to create and measure focal points on both a note card and the wall. They then complete a reading passage and questions as homework.
It's About Time
How Electrons Determine Chemical Behaviors
Lead the class on an investigation as they play detective and locate patterns in the electron arrangement of atoms. During the seventh lesson, they assign valence numbers to elements, organize the periodic table in the correct sequence,...
It's About Time
Monitoring Active Volcanoes
The fastest growing volcano in recorded history grew more than 150 meters in less than a week and to more than 424 meters in less than a decade. How do we safely monitor active volcanoes? Young scientists design an instrument to measure...
Center for Learning in Action
Introduction to the States of Matter
Liquids, gases, and solids are the states of matter in which scholars investigate in a lesson plan that offers in-depth information and engaging activities that look into the three states and the changes their properties make when mixed...
PBS
Technology: Conveniences and Consequences
It's a delicate balance—using technology to improve our lives while still protecting the environment, and ourselves, from the hazards of technology use. Class members examine statistics about the increase in media use, complete a survey...
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt pieces....
University of Texas
What Are Calories?
What are calories, and how do calorie needs differ from person to person? Here is a worksheet that briefly explains how calories measure the energy supplied by food, as well as suggests the amount of food an individual should eat per day.